The present invention relates to a method of and a device for optical digital-analog (D-A) conversion by which digital optical data represented by a plurality of parallel incident light beams is converted to an analog amount in terms of optical power, and more particularly to a method of and a device for optical D-A conversion which utilize the Bragg diffraction of light by a surface acoustic wave.
With remarkable progress in light application techniques in recent years, there is a growing demand for various optical functional devices. Among other optical devices, optical D-A conversion devices can be used for light-wave communications, optical disks, photosensors, etc. Although greatly desired, such devices have not been actually used.